Lexical Summary shechuth: Slaughtered, destroyed Original Word: שְׁחוּת Strong's Exhaustive Concordance pit From shachah; pit -- pit. see HEBREW shachah NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfrom shachah Definition a pit NASB Translation pit (1). Brown-Driver-Briggs [שְׁחוּת] noun feminine pit (compare שַׁ֫חַת from שׁוח); — suffix בִּשְׁחוּתוֺ הוּא יִמּוֺל Proverbs 28:10. Topical Lexicon Semantic Range and ImageryThe noun שְׁחוּת depicts a deliberately prepared hole in the ground—an ambush-pit—metaphorically extended to any hidden scheme intended to bring about another’s ruin. In wisdom literature such imagery regularly illustrates moral boomerang: the engineer of harm becomes the victim of his own device (Psalm 7:15; Psalm 57:6; Ecclesiastes 10:8). Canonical Context: Proverbs 28:10 Proverbs 28:10 employs the term to contrast two life trajectories: “He who leads the upright along an evil path will fall into his own pit, but the blameless will inherit what is good.” 1. The “pit” functions as the concrete emblem of divine justice; the fall is certain (“will fall”) because the moral order of Yahweh’s world is inviolate. Ethical and Theological Implications • Moral Causality. Scripture affirms a built-in reciprocity between deed and consequence (Job 4:8; Galatians 6:7). שְׁחוּת distills this principle into striking visual form. Historical Setting in Wisdom Tradition Ancient Near-Eastern literature frequently depicts hunting pits or military snares. Israelite sages adopt the image, but redirect it from literal warfare to ethical instruction. Proverbs 28:10 therefore situates every listener—regardless of social rank—within the cosmic courtroom of wisdom and folly. Intertextual Echoes • Positive inversion: Psalm 40:2 celebrates deliverance “out of the pit of destruction,” demonstrating God’s power to reverse human peril. Pastoral and Discipleship Applications 1. Integrity in Leadership. Church shepherds and parents must assess whether their counsel directs others toward holiness or subtly normalizes compromise. Christological Reflection Jesus Christ experienced the conspiracy of human scheming—“the stone the builders rejected” (Psalm 118:22; Acts 4:11)—yet by the resurrection overturned the deepest שְׁחוּת imaginable, the grave itself (Acts 2:24). His triumph validates the proverb: the architects of His downfall were themselves judged, while He, the truly blameless, inherited and now bestows eternal good. Related Hebrew and Greek Terms • שׁוּחָה (shuchah) – pit, cistern (Proverbs 22:14). These words collectively reinforce the Bible’s unified testimony: God frustrates malicious plots and secures the righteous. Conclusion Strong’s Hebrew 7816 speaks with a single-verse voice, yet its warning reverberates through the canon and Christian experience. Every plan that misleads God’s people is a shovel of self-destruction, but steadfast obedience walks a path unthreatened by the collapsing ground of moral deceit. Forms and Transliterations בִּשְׁחוּת֥וֹ בשחותו biš·ḥū·ṯōw bishchuTo bišḥūṯōwLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Proverbs 28:10 HEB: בְּדֶ֥רֶךְ רָ֗ע בִּשְׁחוּת֥וֹ הֽוּא־ יִפּ֑וֹל NAS: fall into his own pit, But the blameless KJV: he shall fall himself into his own pit: but the upright INT: way an evil pit will himself fall 1 Occurrence |
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